Trouser hook and eye



April 11, 1967 G. A. LITTELL ET Al. 3,313,008l

TROSER HOOK AND EYE Filed Dc. 24, 1964 Q 93911101111111111100/ ""-vnllllllllrlllllllllx United States Patent` O 3,313,008 TROUSER HOOK AND EYE Gilbert A. Littell and William T. Rowles, Lexington, Ky., assgnors to Talon, Inc., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 421,042 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-224) This invention relates to a fastening device, and more particularly to such -a device of the so-called trouser hookand-eye type especially adaptable for the waistband of trousers, skirts and other garments to detachably secure together two parts thereof.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved fastening device of the type described which is not only stronger and more durable than fastening devices of this type heretofore suggested and used but, at the same time, a device which can easily be vmanipulated to a fastened and unfastened condition and which is not subject to accidental disenga-gement.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved fastening device of this type which is simple and economical in its construction and manufacture and, at the same time, efficient and effective in its use.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved fastening device of the trouser hook-and-eye type which may be manipulated to a fastened and unfastened condition by a single straight line lateral motion of the two members relative to one another in parallel planes parallel to the planes of the overlapped parts of a garment with which it is adapted to be used.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification, and will `be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown for the purpose of illustration, an embodiment which the invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the upper portion of a placket or fly opening showing the ends of the waistband which are to be releasably secured together and showing these ends equipped with the cooperating parts of a fastener embodying the principles of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective exploded view showing the several parts of the fastener in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the head of the male member about to engage the female member,

FIG. 4 is a side elevational View, partly in section, showing the fastener members fully engaged,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the fastening device of the present invention showing the female member in full lines and the male member in broken lines and showing the position the male member assumes at the beginning of the snapping or engaging action.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the irnproved trouser hook-and-eye type fastening device in accordance with the present invention consists of an eye E and a hook H which are adapted to be interengaged with one another.

In this improved construction, the eye or male member E consists of a cylindrical central portion 2 having a circular or annular flange portion 3 arranged integrally therewith at one end thereof and concentric therewith. On the opposite end of the cylindrical portion 2, there is arranged a pair of prongs 4 which are adapted to penetrate the fabric or article with which the yfastening device is adapted to be used and which prongs when bent over 3,313,008 Patented Apr. 11, 1967 cooperate with a back plate 5 having apertures 6 therein for receiving the prongs which plate is disposed on the opposite side of the fabric or article to secure the eye member to the fabric or article F in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. This hook member may be stamped from sheet metal or may be made in any desirable manner from any suitable material.

The hook or female member H which is the most important aspect of the present invention consists of a socket-like lbody portion substantially C-shaped so as to provide an outer face wall 7 with an inwardly extending flanged wall portion 8 arranged therearound whereby a cavity 9 is formed therein for the reception of the circular or annular portion 3 of the eye member in a manner hereinafter to be described.

In the outer face wall 7 of this hook member, there is arranged a substantially C-shaped circular opening 10 which is slightly larger than a semi-circle having opposed terminating or arcuated side edge portions 12 so as to provide a lateral opening therebetween. The diameter of this opening 10 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical central portion 2 of the eye member and the distance designated at a between these opposed arcuated edge portions 12 of this lateral opening is slightly less than the Outer diameter of this cylindrical central portion.

On the inner edge of the flanged wall portion 8, there is arranged a pair of inwardly extending prongs 13 which are also adapted to penetrate the fabric or other article F with which the fastening device is to be used which prongs cooperate, When bent over, with a back plate 14 positioned on the opposite side of the fabric or article to secure the hook member thereto in a well known manner.

While a pair of prongs are illustrated for attaching the respective members to the fabric or article, it will be understood that any other suitable means may be employed.

Having described the construction of the improved fastening device of the hook-and-eye type in accordance with the present invention, it functions in the following manner.

It will be assumed that the hook H is attached to one side of the fabric of an opening in a garment such as a placket and that the eye E is attached to the fabric on the opposite side of the opening as illustrated in the drawings.

It is usually the custom in interengaging a trouser hook and eye of Ithis type to hold the eye rmly in position and move the hook relative thereto into interengagement therewith. Accordingly, it is the present construction, the eye E is grasped and held firmly and the hook H is moved relative thereto with the circular or annular portion 3 together with the cylindrical .portion 2 of the eye member introduced into the lateral opening in the open end of the C-shaped body .portion of the hook member. As it is moved -thereinto the cylindrical portion will eventually come to the constricted opening and contact the opposed arcuated edges 12. Upon further movement of the hook member the cylindrical portion 2 wil force or spring the free ends at the edges 12 .of the body portion apart, as shown in FIG. 6, thus permitting the circular portion 3 together with the cylindrical portion 2 to pass into the cavity 9 and the C- ment of the circular portion 3 together with the cylindrical portion 2 from the cavity 9. That is to say, the -eye member is engaged with the hook member by a snapping action between the outer` free ends of the C- shaped body member of the hook H and the Acylindrical portion 2 of the eye member E. As hereinbefore stated this is accomplished by constructing the C-shaped member so that the distance a between the two arcuated edges 12 of the C-shaped opening is slightly less than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 2 of the eye member with which they operatively cooperate.

Accordingly, it will be -seen that l-to bring the hook and eye into locking engagement, or to separate them, will require but slight force Yyet these members will be held securely against displacement relative to one another when interengaged.

As a result of our invention, it will be that there is provided a trouser or garment hook and eye fastener which `consists of a minimum number of parts and which consists of a minimum number of parts and which can be easily and inexpensively fabricated and attached to the garment or other article. It will also be seen that the members are so constructed and arranged that they will lock together automatically when interengaged. Also, it will be seen that both the hook and eye members are so constructed that they will with-stand laundering and pressing without being crushed or distorted as is oftentimes the case with other fastening devices of thisl type.

While there is shown and described an embodiment which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merely for the purpose of illustration and description, and thatother forms can be devised within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a fastening device of the hook and eye type, the

combination of,

d opposed arcuated edge portions at said lateral opening, the diameter of the C-shaped opening bounded by the innermost edge of said outer face wall being slightly greater than that of the cylindrical portion of said eye member and with the distance between said arcuated edge portions thereof being slightly less than the diameter of the cylindrical portion of said eye member, said eye member adapted to spread the opposed ar cuated edge portions of said outer face wall and pass through said lateral opening into the C-shaped opening with said outer face wall overlying said anged portion of said eye member and with the portions of said inwardly extending si-de flanged wall carrying said outer face Wall located adjacent to said lateral opening being resiliently deformed upon passage of said eye, means carried by the side iianged wall of said hook member and spaced from said lateral opening for attaching the same to an article with which it is adapted to be used. Y 2. A fastening device of the hook and eye type according to claim 1 wherein `said means for attaching the respective eye and hook members to the article is a pair of prongs carried by the cylindrically shaped portion of said eye member and the anged portion of said hook member.

3. A fastening device of the hook and eye type according to claim 1 wherein said means for attaching said hook member to the article is a pair of .prongs each of v which is spaced an equal distance away from said lateral opening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 882,483 3/ 1908 Wilson 24-222 1,156,008 10/ 1915 Humphrey 24-224 1,227,908 5 1917 Hentschel 24-222 1,891,637 12/1932 Frank 24-222 2,041,498 5 1936 Swidersky 24-222 2,387,575 10/ 1945 Daude 24-222 2,986,791 `6/ 1961 Strehlein 244-222 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,332 2/ 1910 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

G. WEIDENFELD, Assistant Examiner` 

1. IN A FASTENING DEVICE OF THE HOOK AND EYE TYPE, THE COMBINATION OF, AN EYE MEMBER HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL CENTRAL PORTION WITH A FLANGED PORTION ARRANGED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY AT ONE END THEREOF AND MEANS ARRANGED AT THE END OPPOSITE TO SAID FLANGED PORTION FOR ATTACHING SAID EYE MEMBER TO THE ARTICLE WITH WHICH IT IS TO BE USED, A HOOK MEMBER WITH WHICH SAID EYE MEMBER IS ADAPTED TO INTERENGAGE COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY C-SHAPED MEMBER HAVING A LATERAL OPENING IN ONE SIDE THEREOF AND INCLUDING AN OUTER FACE WALL AND AN INWARDLY EXTENDING SIDE FLANGED WILL DISPOSED ABOUT A CSHAPED OPENING WITH SAID OUTER FACE WALL HAVING OPPOSED ARCUATED EDGE PORTIONS AT SAID LATERAL OPENING, THE DIAMETER OF THE C-SHAPED OPENING BOUNDED BY THE INNERMOST EDGE OF SAID OUTER FACE WALL BEING SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAT OF THE CYLINDRICAL PORTION OF SAID EYE MEMBER AND WITH THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID ARCUATED EDGE PORTIONS THEREOF BEING SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE CYLINDRICAL PORTION OF SAID EYE MEMBER, SAID EYE MEMBER ADAPTED TO SPREAD THE OPPOSED ARCUATED EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID OUTER FACE WALL AND PASS THROUGH SAID LATERAL OPENING INTO THE C-SHAPED OPENING WITH SAID OUTER FACE WALL OVERLYING SAID FLANGED PORTION OF SAID EYE MEMBER AND WITH THE PORTIONS OF SAID INWARDLY EXTENDING SIDE FLANGED WALL CARRYING SAID OUTER FACE WALL LOCATED ADJACENT TO SAID LATERAL OPENING BEING RESILIENTLY DEFORMED UPON PASSAGE OF SAID EYE, MEANS CARRIED BY THE SIDE FLANGED WALL OF SAID HOOK MEMBER AND SPACED FROM SAID LATERAL OPENING FOR ATTACHING THE SAME TO AN ARTICLE WITH WHICH IT IS ADAPTED TO BE USED. 